Silver: Extraction
Why most silver is a passenger in other ores
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Most silver is a passenger in other ores. USGS says it comes chiefly as a by-product of lead-zinc, copper and gold mines, and polymetallic deposits hold over two-thirds of world resources. Nassar and colleagues estimate about 71% of primary supply is a by-product (pdf p. 1). Ore is crushed and floated into base-metal concentrates, and the silver follows the lead or copper through the smelter before recovery from refinery residues. A minority of mines, notably in Mexico, are primary silver mines. Because output depends on host metals, supply responds weakly to silver's own price.
Most silver is not mined for itself. It comes out of lead-zinc, copper and gold ores, and the mine plan is set by those metals. Primary silver mines, mainly underground vein deposits in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia, supply the rest. In base-metal mines silver follows lead or copper into flotation concentrate and is recovered at the smelter. In gold and primary silver mines it is leached with cyanide and poured as dore. Recycling of scrap is the third source. Because so much supply is a by-product, mine output responds only weakly to the silver price.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary silver mining (underground veins, flotation or cyanide leach) | about 28% of mine output (72% is from non-primary mines) | indicative (basis: Fresnillo, the largest primary producer, mined 48.7 Moz in 2025 across several mines, Fresnillo 4Q25 report) | n/a | gold, lead, zinc | n/a |
| By-product of lead-zinc mining | the largest single source, though its share edged lower in 2025 | Hindustan Zinc 687 t silver in FY2025 | n/a | silver is the by-product; lead and zinc pay for the mine | silver carries no separate cost; it is a credit against zinc cost |
| By-product of copper mining | copper-linked output rose 6% in 2025 | Poland mined 1,300 t in 2025e (USGS), almost all at KGHM | n/a | silver, gold, selenium, molybdenum | credit against copper cost |
| By-product of gold mining | gold-linked output rose 5% in 2025 | n/a | n/a | silver is the by-product of gold | credit against gold cost |
| Recycling | 197.6 Moz in 2025, about 19% of mine plus recycled supply | US recovered about 1,000 t in 2025 (USGS) | n/a | gold, palladium from electronic scrap | n/a |
How each method works
Primary silver mining (underground veins, flotation or cyanide leach)Narrow epithermal veins are mined underground by cut-and-fill or long-hole stoping. Ore is floated into a silver-lead concentrate or leached with cyanide and refined from dore. Mexico (Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Durango) and Peru are the heartland.
Direct exposure to silver price; narrow veins mean high mining cost per tonne.
Silver Institute (via Crux Investor, 2026); Fresnillo 4Q25 production report (28 Jan 2026). No sourced cost figure found By-product of lead-zinc miningSilver substitutes in galena, so it reports to lead concentrate. Smelters recover it from lead bullion by Parkes or electrolytic refining. Hindustan Zinc's Sindesar Khurd mine in Rajasthan is one of the world's largest silver producers on this route.
Low marginal cost; output set by zinc and lead demand.
Silver Institute / Metals Focus, World Silver Survey 2026 press release (15 Apr 2026); Hindustan Zinc FY2025 results By-product of copper miningSilver in copper sulphides goes into concentrate and is recovered from anode slimes at copper refineries. Poland's KGHM, Chile and Peru are large sources.
Grows with copper; disruptions at copper mines cut silver too.
Silver Institute / Metals Focus, World Silver Survey 2026 press release (15 Apr 2026); USGS MCS 2026, Silver By-product of gold miningSilver dissolves with gold in cyanide leach and is poured together as dore, then separated at the refinery.
Expands with gold prices and new gold mines.
Silver Institute / Metals Focus, World Silver Survey 2026 press release (15 Apr 2026) RecyclingRefiners recover silver from old jewellery, silverware, electronics, photographic waste and spent catalysts. India's households sell silverware back when prices spike.
Responds fast to price; thin dispersed uses (solar, electronics) are hard to recover.
Silver Institute / Metals Focus, World Silver Survey 2026 press release (15 Apr 2026); USGS MCS 2026 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
About 72% of mine silver comes from operations where silver is not the main product: lead-zinc mines (the largest source), then copper and gold mines (Silver Institute, 2026). USGS likewise says silver is primarily a by-product of lead-zinc, copper and gold mines. A high silver price barely changes how much zinc, copper or gold ore those mines treat, so supply is price-inelastic. That is why the market ran deficits for five straight years to 2025 even as prices rose 42% in 2025 (Silver Institute).
Share produced as a by-product
About 71% of primary supply comes as a by-product of lead, zinc and copper (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zijin Mining | China | mining (by-product of gold and copper) | 439 t mined silver | 2025 | Zijin 2025 results, as reported by Mysteel |
| Fresnillo plc (Penoles group) | Mexico | mining (primary silver and gold) | 48.7 Moz attributable silver (incl. 1.1 Moz Silverstream); gold 600 koz | 2025 | Fresnillo 4Q25 production report (28 Jan 2026) |
| KGHM Polska Miedz | Poland | mining (by-product of copper) and refining | 4.5% of world silver mine output | 2013 | Tilton and Guzman (2016), Mineral Economics and Policy, Table 7.1 (2013); Poland mined 1,300 t in 2025e (USGS MCS 2026) |
| Glencore | Switzerland | mining (by-product of zinc, lead, copper) and trading | 4.3% of world silver mine output | 2013 | Tilton and Guzman (2016), Mineral Economics and Policy, Table 7.1 (2013, as Glencore Xstrata) |
| BHP | Australia | mining (by-product); its 2013 share came mainly from the Cannington lead-zinc-silver mine, which passed to South32 in the 2015 demerger | 4.1% of world silver mine output | 2013 | Tilton and Guzman (2016), Mineral Economics and Policy, Table 7.1 (2013 equivalent production) |
Who does it: India
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindustan Zinc (Vedanta) | India | mining (by-product of lead-zinc) and refining | 687 t saleable silver | FY2025 | Hindustan Zinc FY2025 results (down 8% on FY2024), as reported by The Machine Maker |
| MMTC-PAMP India | India | refining | 600 t a year silver refining capacity | 2026 | ICRA rating rationale, 28 Jul 2026 (silver sales volume up 73% in FY2026) |
India mined about 800 t of silver in 2025e (USGS), almost all as a by-product at Hindustan Zinc, but imported 7,335 t worth about $12 billion in FY2025-26 (commerce ministry data, as reported). Metals Focus put 2025 imports at 232 Moz (about 7,200 t). India is the world's largest silver importer.